The Matchday 21 encounter on Saturday 9 February (kick-off 15:30 CET) brings to an end a busy period for VfL, whose trip to Freiburg will be their third away match in succession. Head coach Bruno Labbadia, whose side beat Hertha Berlin 1-0 last weekend before losing 1-0 to RB Leipzig in the DFB Cup, could include captain Josuha Guilavogui in his squad following injury. At his press conference ahead of the trip to the Black Forest, the Wolves boss discussed…
...the personnel situation: “Josuha Guilavogui took full part in the second team’s training session yesterday. There’s a good chance he’ll be included in the squad. Admir Mehmedi hasn’t been able to train with the rest of the team, though, so he’ll definitely miss out. There are no new developments with regard to any of the other players.”
…the opponents: “I’ve seen quite a few of Freiburg’s games. They’re a team that know what they need to do and how to put their coach’s instructions into practice. They work very well together, which is why they’re difficult to beat for any team. That’s what we’re up against tomorrow.”
…his expectations ahead of the game: “Both teams will try to play at a high intensity, make a lot of tackles and press high while also maintaining their shape. Freiburg are capable of doing that. They’re tough to play against, but so are we.”
…the Wolves’ strong position in the table: “I always try and look at things in perspective and I feel we fully deserve to be in the position we are now. The players have worked very hard to get there, but we also had to play to our limits to be in this position. We’ve hardly faced anyone in the Bundesliga who has completely outplayed us. That’s why we need to keep playing with this intensity. We’re well aware of that.”
